25 years ago: Murder down, violent crime up in Kansas

A television movie based on a book by two Lawrence authors was scheduled to air on CBS in about two weeks. The book "Find a Safe Place," by Alex Lazzarino and Kent Hayes, had been adapted for TV as the movie "Prison for Children." Lazzarino, an attorney, and Hayes, a juvenile criminologist and former probation officer, were both staff members at The Menninger Foundation in Topeka. They said that the book described "what happens to normal personalities when they are thrust into a situation where they must fight for survival."

The year-end crime statistics for 1986 were in, and they showed that the number of violent crimes committed in Kansas had increased 2.9 percent during that year. However, according to the report released by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation today, the number of murders had declined 11.6 percent.